In February, Senator Mark Leno introduced legislation that would revise the penalty for simple drug possession under the state law, from a felony to a misdemeanor. It is legislation that follows the lead of 13 other states, as well as the federal government.
A recent poll by Tulchin Research in San Francisco found that 70 percent of Californians want to reduce the penalties for personal drug use.
The new legislation, according to a release from Senator Leno’s office, SB 1506, does not apply to anyone involved in selling, manufacturing or possessing drugs for sale. The bill would help alleviate overcrowding in state prisons and county jails, ease pressure on California’s court system and result in millions of dollars in annual savings for both state and local governments.
“There is no evidence to suggest that long prison sentences deter or limit people from abusing drugs,” said Senator Leno, D-San Francisco. “In fact, time behind bars and felony records often have horrible unintended consequences for people trying to overcome addiction because they are unlikely to receive drug treatment in prison and have few job prospects and educational opportunities when they leave. This legislation will help implement public safety realignment and protect our communities by reserving prison and jail space for more serious offenders.”
SB 1506 will significantly reduce prison and jail spending, allowing local and state government to dedicate resources to probation, drug treatment and mental health services that have proven most effective in reducing crime. It will also help law enforcement rededicate resources to more serious offenders. The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates reducing penalties for drug possession will save counties about $159 million annually, in addition to yearly savings for the state totaling $64.4 million.
The bill would make simple drug possession a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year behind bars as well as fines and probation.
Presently, possession for most drug offenses is a felony which means not only prison time but the lifelong label as a felon which results in societal stigma and difficulties holding jobs.
The bill has support from a number of law enforcement officials and even some conservative leaning organizations.
For instance, Right on Crime is a “national initiative led by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), one of the nation’s leading state-based, free-market think tanks. The initiative aims to raise awareness of the truly conservative position on criminal justice policy based on the Foundation’s core principles of individual liberty, personal responsibility, free markets, and private property rights.
The group does not endorse specific legislation, but argues with respect to drug possession sentencing issues: “Nationally, hundreds of thousands of inmates charged and sentenced for low-level drug possession crimes are occupying beds in federal and state prisons. Shifting the emphasis from long terms of incarceration for such offenders to either community-based corrections or shorter periods of incarceration, when combined with a strongly enforced requirement that addicts obtain treatment, produces a criminal justice system that more cost-effectively promotes public safety and reduces the risk of future re-offending.”
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon recently wrote: “In my three decades in law enforcement, I have seen firsthand the impact of drug use on communities, the devastation of addiction, the correlation between addiction and other crime rates.”
“Time and again, I have seen low level drug offenders get arrested and convicted, spend a few months in jail and then come out and go right back to a life of drug addiction and crime. Cycling addicts in and out of jail does not reduce their recidivism or make the public safer,” Mr. Gascon wrote.
“It makes it harder for them to get their lives back on track and become contributing members of our community. It’s time to do something different,” he argued. “If we are really serious about public safety and lowering recidivism, we must recognize that addiction is primarily a health issue, and must be treated that way. The sanctions for these cases should be driven by what is most likely to reduce the recidivism of the offender, and that is what we try to focus on: treatment and supervision.”
Diane Goldstein, a retired Lieutenant from the Redondo Beach Police Department, is now a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
She wrote recently, “SB 1506 will hold people accountable for their actions, while reducing recidivism by protecting access to treatment and removing barriers to employment and housing that accompany a felony conviction and that make it more difficult to reintegrate into the community.”
She added that SB 1506 would reduce prison and jail spending, allowing state and local government “to dedicate resources to crime-prevent program that evidence shows are a better allocation of public safety resources while preserving jail space for more serious offenders.”
Retired Orange County Judge James Gray wrote recently, “As a former federal prosecutor with the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, criminal defense attorney with the U.S. Navy JAG corps, and trial judge on the Orange County municipal and superior court benches for 25 years, I have seen and closely worked with many cases involving the possession of currently illicit drugs, and this bill will take a huge step in the right direction.”
“On the bench I frequently marveled that, while being under the influence of illicit drugs was a misdemeanor, their mere possession was often a felony,” Judge Gray added. “That meant that if a user was about to be apprehended by the police with drugs in his or her possession, the best thing to do from a punishment standpoint was to swallow all of the drugs. Of course, that presented enormous and often life-threatening consequences for the user, but that was what the force of the law suggested. This bill would change those dynamics.”
In October of 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law SB 1449 that reduced possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction, with a maximum punishment of a $100 fine.
“I am signing this measure because possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is an infraction in everything but name,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “The only difference is that because it is a misdemeanor, a criminal defendant is entitled to a jury trial and a defense attorney. In this time of drastic budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement and the courts cannot afford to expend limited resources prosecuting a crime that carries the same punishment as a traffic ticket.”
That bill was also authored by Senator Mark Leno.
“Marijuana possession has a unique status under current law, as it is the only misdemeanor that is not punishable by any jail time,” said Senator Leno.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
This is something that most liberals and many conservatives agree with. So, why wouldn’t it pass?
And, then, there’s the side benefit that it would increase sales tax revenue from outside visitors coming to visit “Quirky Davis.”
I have a feeling this is going to be one of those situations with unintended consequences. [b]IF[/b] this passes and meth addicts are not at least temporarily locked up we are going to see an increase in property crime. Don’t forget that prop 36 is already on the books. Hard drug users rarely go to prison for their first offense.
If you don’t have to worry about going to jail why not not have meth all the time. Meth users are thieves, they will steal your gold teeth if you sleep heavy enough. They will be more worried about going to jail for theft that they will from drug use.
On the other hand I do see the weirdness of misdemeanor under the influence law and felony possession. It should be a felony for both.